Pornography: Far from the Song of Songs (1988)
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PORNOGRAPHY: FAR FROM THE SONG OF SONGS A Study Paper Adopted By The 200th General Assembly (1988) Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) PORNOGRAPHY: FAR FROM THE SONG OF SONGS Primary writer: Sylvia Thorson-Smith Contributing writer: Cheri Register, Judith D. Atwell, James Spalding, Anne Callison, Allen Maruyama, C. Benton Kline Editors: Wayne Cowan, Elizabeth H. Verdesi, Regina Williams A POLICY STATEMENT ADOPTED BY THE 200TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY (1988) PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (U.S.A.) THE OFFICE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (U.S.A.) LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY Copyright © 1988 The Office of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically, mechanically, photo- copying, recording, or otherwise (brief quotations used in magazine or newspa- per reviews excepted), without the prior permission of the publisher. Additional copies available at $1.50 each from Presbyterian Distribution Management Services (DMS), 100 Witherspoon Street, Room 1A 1425, Louisville, KY 40202-1396, or by calling 1-800-524-2612 outside of Louisville; 502-569-5618 in Louisville. Please specify DMS order #OGA-88-105 March 1989 Dear Members of Sessions, Presbyteries, and Synods: The 200th General Assembly (1988) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) received “with deep appreciation” a major report of the Task Force on Pornography established jointly by the Committee on Women’s Concerns and the Council on Women and the Church. The Office of the General Assembly was directed to print the study document along with a study guide and response form and transmit a copy to each congregation, presbytery, and synod of the denomination. As indicated in the recommendations approved by the General Assem- bly, the Women’s Ministry Unit has been directed to receive the res- ponses from the studies, and with the Committee on Social Witness Pol- icy to prepare a report with accompanying recommendations for the es- tablishment of a public policy statement by the 203rd General Assembly (1991). Additional copies of this study paper may be ordered as indicated on the inside front cover of this publication. Sincerely, James E. Andrews Stated Clerk of the General Assembly PORNOGRAPHY: FAR FROM THE SONG OF SONGS Table of Contents I. Introduction ...................................................................... 3 II. Theological Statement ........................................................ 6 III. Why Study Pornography Now? ........................................... 9 IV. What Is Pornography? A Discussion of Definition .............. 11 V. Current Statistics on the Pornography Industry ................ 18 VI. What Are the Effects of Pornography? A Discussion of Harm .......................................................... 21 VII. A History of Pornography Regulation in the United States .................................................................... 28 VIII. Government Studies of Pornography ................................ 37 IX. What Should Be Done About Pornography? Four Divergent Views ................................................................ 46 X. Pornography and Culture .................................................. 67 XI. Findings .......................................................................... 81 XII. Recommendations ............................................................ 87 XIII. Endnotes ......................................................................... 90 XIV. Bibliography .................................................................... 98 XV. Background Material ..................................................... 102 A. Theological Perspectives ........................................... 102 1. “Thoughts on Pornography” by Aurelia T. Fule .... 102 2. “Women of Color and Pornography” by Elizabeth B. Haile ............................................. 105 3. “Pornography and Language” by Isabel Wood Rogers ........................................... 110 4. “Freed to Be Lovers, Freed to Be Friends” by Paul Spalding .............................................. 111 5. “Human Sexuality: Dualistic and Holistic Paradigms” by Wilson Yates................................ 113 B. Process of the Study ................................................. 129 ~ 1 ~ C. Actions of Previous General Assemblies .................... 132 1. Resolution of the 189th General Assembly (1977) of the UPCUSA ........................................ 132 2. Resolution of 196th General Assembly (1984) ..... 133 3. Action of 197th General Assembly (1985) .......... 135 4. Action of 198th General Assembly (1986) ........... 135 5. Guidelines from the 1973 PCUS Statement, “Pornography, Obscenity, and Censorship” ......... 136 6. Guidelines from the 1974 UPCUSA study, “Dignity and Exploitation” .................................. 139 D. Statements and Activities of Other Religious Bodies ....................................................... 140 E. Statement of the Religious Alliance Against Pornography ............................................... 142 F. Examples of Social Science Research on Pornography ........................................................ 143 G. Testimonies ............................................................. 145 1. Interview with “Fantasy Girl” by Judith D. Atwell ...... 145 2. Linda Marchiano before the Minneapolis City Council ............................................ 147 H. Civil Legislation ........................................................ 150 1. Pornography Victims Protection Act (U.S. HR 1213) . 150 2. Ordinance of the City of Minneapolis (Excerpts from text) ..................................................... 154 I. Bibliography of Religious Publications on Sex Education and Sexuality .................................... 156 XVI. Study Guide ............................................................. 165 XVII. Response Form ......................................................... 192 ~ 2 ~ I. Introduction General Assembly Actions Responding to overtures from the presbyteries of Elizabeth and Cincinnati, the 196th General Assembly (1984) adopted a res- olution on pornography that mandated the Council on Women and the Church (COWAC) and the General Assembly Mission Board (Office of Women) to “persevere in their work in the areas of pornography and obscenity and the education of the church and society to combat the abusive treatment of women.” Taking action to provide the budget necessary for this study in both 1985 and 1986, the 198th General Assembly (1986) di- rected the Council on Women and the Church and the Committee on Women’s Concerns to complete the work approved in 1984. In addition, the 1985 action directed the two women’s advocacy groups as follows: … to present the results of their research and proposals to develop edu- cational materials and plans to distribute them to sessions and congrega- tions; … to develop material for education purposes concerning obscenity, por- nography, sexual harassment, and other forms of sexual exploitation of per- sons, appropriate for study within sessions and congregations; … to make the church aware of educational resources already in exis- tence that cover the topics of obscenity, pornography, sexual harassment, and other forms of sexual exploitation. [The entire texts of the 1984, 1985, and 1986 General Assembly actions are in the Background Material of this report.] These actions were consistent with the work done by the women’s advocacy groups since their establishment in 1972 in the PCUS and in 1973 in the UPCUSA. Previous General Assem- blies had assigned studies on rape and battering, reported in 1978, on sexual harassment (1982), and on sexual exploitation of women (1986). The 198th General Assembly (1986) assigned “the appropriate agency (Advisory Council on Church and Society, [or] the Social Justice and Peacemaking Ministry Unit) to advocate the public policy position of the General Assembly in the area of pornogra- phy, and assist the church in its social witness.” Process of the Study In July 1986, following action by the General Assembly Coun- cil to provide funding for the pornography study, COWC and COWAC initiated the formation of a task force, with Sylvia Thor- ~ 3 ~ son-Smith, of Grinnell, IA, a former member of COWAC, serving as coordinator. In consulation with COWAC and COWC, the following persons were invited to serve on the task force: The Rev. Anne Callison, R.N., Santo Domingo, Dominican Re- public; Ms. Doris Carson, Kingsport, TN; Ms. Patsy H. Correll, Spartanburg, SC; Ms. Carol E. Davies, Independence, MO; the Rev. Barbara Horner-Ibler, Mt. Vernon, NY; Ms. Diana Lim, Cu- pertino, CA; the Rev. Dr. Allen Maruyama, Denver, CO; Ms. Faye McDonald Smith, Atlanta, GA; Ms. Elizabeth McWhorter, Atlanta, GA; Dr. Cheri Register, Minneapolis, MN; and the Rev. Dr. James Spalding, Iowa City, IA. Dr. Elizabeth H. Verdesi and Ms. Judith D. Atwell, New York staff for COWAC, and the Rev. Carole Goods- peed, Atlanta staff for COWC, have also worked with the task force. The Task Force on Pornography held four meetings: December 2–4, 1986, in New York, NY; March 18–20, 1987, in Minneapolis, MN; June 29–July 6, 1987, at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, NM; and September 20–22, 1987, in Atlanta, GA. In addition to these ses- sions, members and staff attended numerous events and spoke to many people with expertise or interest in the issue of pornogra- phy. These meetings included presentations by persons